Women of Promise

    Leviticus 23, verses 1–3 gives us what feels like a preamble to its later content. Before God speaks of annual feasts, He begins with the weekly Sabbath. That is important. Before the celebrations, the pilgrimages, or the sacred seasons, He begins with rest.The Sabbath comes first.  That tells us something profound: Rest is not an afterthought in the life of God’s people. It is foundational. God did not give Sabbath as punishment. He gave it as a gift.    It was never meant to be a burden. It was meant to be merciful blessing. A day to step away from ordinary work and striving.A day to be restored.A day to remember that God is God, and we are not.    The Sabbath invites us to stop looking at our work and refocus on His. It reminds us that the world continues spinning without our constant effort.That is humbling,  and it is freeing.    For many of us this is difficult. Because stopping is difficult. There is always on...

     I absolutely love a good planner. Especially a pretty one with plenty of room to write things down. There is something calming to my soul for me to be able to see the patterns come to life as I write down the daily meal plan or the weekly activities.       There are three main places in the Torah where God lays out Israel’s religious calendar: Exodus 21–23 Leviticus 23 (and Numbers 28–29) Deuteronomy      Each one gives us a slightly different perspective on the same sacred calendar. In the same way the Gospels tell the same story of Christ from different angles, these passages show us the same sacred rhythm with different emphasis. One emphasizes covenant. One emphasizes worship and sacrifice. One emphasizes remembrance and obedience. Each unique emphasis gives us a fuller picture of His divine perspective.        Leviticus gives us the priestly perspective. It focuses especially on worship, offering...

        Do you like to work jigsaw puzzles? Growing up, my grandmother and mom loved to work large jigsaw puzzles. I’m talking 500, 750, 1000  piece puzzles. The week between Christmas and New Year was traditionally the time where we had a table devoted to a large puzzle. Inevitably, we would all be pulled into it at some point in the week. Sometimes we finished it, sometimes not. It was left out on the table and we would spend hours pouring over it. Gradually, the beautiful picture emerged, as the pieces came together.       What is the first step in putting the puzzle together? After pouring out some of the pieces, you first have to turn over the pieces to see the pattern on the front, right?       Our spiritual journey in understanding the Bible is similar to working a puzzle. We are gradually gaining a better understanding of the beautiful picture that will become increasingly more clear to us as we place ea...

     C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying that Psalm 19 was "the greatest poem in the Psalter, and one of the most beautiful lyrics in the world."  I am not a judge of literature, but I tend to agree with him! Have you read this Psalm recently? It is only 14 verses, and does not take long at all to read.  While it is very beautiful to read,  it is more than pretty words.  This short song draws our hearts to the Creator and His law, ultimately turning our hearts and minds to repentance and worship.  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.               Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.                             There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.                        ...

    Amy Carmichael was a Christian missionary to India.  She is most known for her work with the women and girls, many of whom were left at the Hindu temples.  She rescued girls of all ages from a life of prostitution and started a home and school where she taught them the love of Jesus, while also providing love and care for their physical needs.  Facing opposition from the priests and families, and even other missionaries, Amy served in India for fifty-five years. The last twenty of those years she was mostly confined to her bedroom due to chronic pain and immobility she suffered as a result of a terrible fall. She wrote many poems and books. Her home for girls is still in operation. Her work is continued by the girls she rescued and raised along with others sent by God to help. I encourage you to read more about this inspiring Christian lady, if you are not familiar with her.    I love to read and learn about Amy's life, as well as her many poems an...

      When life presses in pretty close and trials and troubles encroach on our hearts, where can we turn? When schedules and concerns overwhelm our minds, how are we to cope? When we can't even form words to pray, what will bring peace to our soul?     The Word of God provides the answers. The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than a sword. The Word of God is the Bible. The Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is our peace and our comfort. The Word of God is our refuge when the storms of life are howling all around us.       The Psalms are one place in the Word of God that can provide the clarity of thought and the peace and calm to our souls that we need. My father gave me a Psalter many years ago. A Psalter is the Psalms of the Bible put into a form for singing (often to traditional hymns that are very familiar to me.)  I love to open this book and read this version of the Psalms, often humming them to the tu...

Remember the song, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God"? It has been running my head recently. The family of faith really is a beautiful treasure. I know, because I haven't always had that. Sometimes life happens and we get separated from a fellowship. The pain and loneliness is difficult to navigate. God never intends this to be a long term situation, although He may use circumstances to guide us into His beautiful, pre-designed plan.  Sometimes we are tempted to think we are OK when we are off doing our own thing. The truth is, we need each other and the church needs you! I recently read a really great analogy told by D.L. Moody. A man told the preacher that he could be a good Christian without going to church. Without a word, D.L. Moody reached into the fireplace and removed one small log from the woodpile that was blazing.  He set the small log on the tile away from the rest of the fire. The log burned brightly at first before slowly getti...